I agree with Croatia, your roster looks really good! I'm afraid Guldhammer and Nairo will meet pretty often, hope we can both take a fair share of those races
Not replacing J-J might cost you a few points, as he had a really good season. But Aranburu looks very nice and should bring you a good bunch of points as well.
Trentin should be a Top 5 cobbler in PCT, and if AKA does what he should do, you definitely won't be involved in the relegation fight this time.
And then, you still have your joker card named Warbasse - I really think you've got a great setup this year!
Not a certainty for relegation, but might be closer to it than promotion. I love seeing Guldhammer finally here. I'd like Trentin more if Stallaert hadn't also arrived at the same time to the PCT.
Fingeers crossed Cannister steals you some wins
Good team, should certainly never fear relegation with the leaders you have and the depth in the team hasn't been sacrificed either.
Guldhammer and Trentin not really long term solutions but both have 2-3 years of use should you want them. It must be said you have have had a really good transfers as well.
John St Ledger in Team Bunzl-Centrica and Team U25
Sure, Trentin. Blythe and Stallaert back wasn't bad enough yet.
Not sure where this team is going. AKA is a bit unreliable so it will come down to what the two team leaders will do. It could be another close season for you.
Croatia14 wrote:
You've done a great job in transfers and look very well set!
Thank you! I'm not quite so confident, but I executed most of my main transfer plans and like the look of my roster overall, so I can't complain.
Fabianski wrote:
I agree with Croatia, your roster looks really good! I'm afraid Guldhammer and Nairo will meet pretty often, hope we can both take a fair share of those races
Not replacing J-J might cost you a few points, as he had a really good season. But Aranburu looks very nice and should bring you a good bunch of points as well.
Trentin should be a Top 5 cobbler in PCT, and if AKA does what he should do, you definitely won't be involved in the relegation fight this time.
And then, you still have your joker card named Warbasse - I really think you've got a great setup this year!
Indeed, Guldhammer and Nairo will luckily contest a lot of battles this year, although I reckon Nairo has the edge there depending on support.
I considered replacing JJ, but ultimately decided against it. I love JJ but didn't have any confidence in him as a PCT leader in the current engine, so selling him felt like the right move. I briefly played for Kristian Haugard Jensen in FA, and maybe I should have gone harder. At the time I still needed to seal other leaders, and the growing strength of PCT hills made me very hesitant to invest there. While I do hope Aranburu can surprise a bit and score, I definitely have conceded hills overall though this year. We'll see if that was a worthy gamble.
Happy with Trentin, but we'll see about AKA. In terms of points/money he was still mostly worth it last year in the end, but only because he was on his pre-training wage still. I really struggle to believe he will be worth 210k to me this year, and he might be the worst value on my roster even if his OVL says otherwise. But I'm trying to be optimistic that he'll actually perform more in line with expectations since he won't be a favorite.
And yes, Warbasse is a key part of things. Thought about selling him to downsize, but quite happy I didn't even after his wage raise. He'll have some nice leadership opportunities this year and could have some success if my planning risks pay off. And if PCM 20 likes him as much as PCM 18, of course.
TheManxMissile wrote:
Not a certainty for relegation, but might be closer to it than promotion. I love seeing Guldhammer finally here. I'd like Trentin more if Stallaert hadn't also arrived at the same time to the PCT.
Fingeers crossed Cannister steals you some wins
I expect to be closer to relegation than promotion, although my hope is that I'm not especially close to either. Obviously not happy to see Stallaert, Blythe, etc. join PCT, but I would have met them in PTHC anyway, and I can't really control what the rest of the division looks like. At least, that's what I tell myself. Every terrain is stacked and that promotes a level of randomness. I just have to keep pace on enough of them to survive.
Cannister will definitely be racing a lot, that's for sure! Hope he has a good start to his career.
ryant wrote:
Good team, should certainly never fear relegation with the leaders you have and the depth in the team hasn't been sacrificed either.
Guldhammer and Trentin not really long term solutions but both have 2-3 years of use should you want them. It must be said you have have had a really good transfers as well.
Hope you're right. I am definitely proud of my depth, especially as it has begun to include more homegrown guys. Hopefully they can be useful for scoring too.
Yeah, depending on how this year goes and wage demands, they're certainly not necessarily one and done guys. Both are viable leaders next year still at least. Of course, I'd prefer them to be younger as I'm trying to build a stable PCT team going forward, but the core is still young and staying up to make sure they max and re-sign is most important to me.
Ollfardh wrote:
Sure, Trentin. Blythe and Stallaert back wasn't bad enough yet.
Not sure where this team is going. AKA is a bit unreliable so it will come down to what the two team leaders will do. It could be another close season for you.
PCT cobbles might be more stacked than PT, but no big deal I guess.
Indeed, AKA being my third best rider OVL is not ideal, considering I think his overall greatly overestimates his scoring potential. That being said, I hope my other leaders and depth will be enough for me to stay up. We'll see.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Great to see Guldhammer (and Cannister) come home! Trentin is also a great addition, and also looking forward to see how Warbasse and Aranburu do this season. A bit afraid of Kragh Andersen, but with good planning he should still score well I think
Nemolito wrote:
Great to see Guldhammer (and Cannister) come home! Trentin is also a great addition, and also looking forward to see how Warbasse and Aranburu do this season. A bit afraid of Kragh Andersen, but with good planning he should still score well I think
Thank you! It really does feel like a homecoming for Guldhammer. Once he became available, and I needed a GC guy, it just seemed like a perfect fit, regardless of the other factors involved. I've contacted his manager every year I've been in PCT and even a couple where I was in CT. Having him finally on board is huge for both our performance and identity.
AKA is undoubtedly a big question mark, and not leaning in the right direction. He'll really have to get lucky with the game engine to do anything. My hope is he can just score around as well as all the other outsider sprinters based on random chance.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
The 2021 season is over! There hasn't been much talk of it in the Carlsberg HQ, but you believe that it happened. The team had good and bad stretches, and ended up finishing 12th, solidly in the middle of the PCT division. The best part is that this means the team will hopefully have enough cap room to keep all the talents listed below. Here's our yearly scouting report.
Lennard Kämna
Stage Racer - 4 > Max - Age 26 - Pot. 5
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
70
75
70
76
74
72
73
62
63
67
71
70
76
2022
71
77
71
78
76
73
75
62
63
67
71
70
78
After spending a season helping Silvio Herklotz dominate the PT, Kamna is ready for his own shot at leadership. He lasts well on long climbs, but he really lives for races against the clock. The hope is that he can immediately be a productive stage racer for Carlsberg and take over a secondary leadership role. However, word on the street is that he is not yet satisfied with his climbing ability, and he may look to improve it further in the coming years in order to claim absolute team leadership.
Jonas Gregaard
Climber - 4 > Max - Age 26 - Pot. 5
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
71
76
70
66
76
73
74
61
63
69
57
73
66
2022
71
78
71
66
78
75
75
61
63
70
58
75
66
After four years of development, Jonas Gregaard has finally reached his full potential. He spent the last few years attempting to become a more well rounded climber. However, this year, he focused on what he's always been best at - lasting deep into races and dieseling up long climbs. Next year, he should immediately slot in as a both a superdomestique and a prime breakaway option in the mountains for Carlsberg.
Erik Nordsaeter Resell
Cobbles - 4 > Max - Age 26 - Pot. 4
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
74
56
69
65
72
70
69
74
61
70
75
69
65
2022
75
56
70
65
73
71
70
76
61
70
76
69
65
Resell has the archetype of a great cobbles domestique. He loves the bumpy roads, and he's not so bad on very short hills either. His lack of energy and poor climbing ability may hold him back from reaching the next level, but he will always be willing to help his leaders or launch a long range attack in the classics.
Arturs Belevics
Time Trialist - 4 > Max - Age 26 - Pot. 5
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
74
60
63
76
72
70
71
62
63
66
74
64
76
2022
76
60
64
78
73
72
73
62
63
66
75
64
78
Belevics is a diesel. He'll immediately slot in as the best pure time trialist on the team, at least for flat races. Additionally, he will be a huge asset for Asbjorn Kragh Andersen and other(?) Carlsberg sprinters over the next few years, as his engine will be great for chasing down the break and getting teammates into position.
Gyasi Sulvaran
Fighter - 3 > 4 - Age 28 - Pot. 2
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
71
68
72
71
66
75
65
54
65
72
76
67
72
2022
72
69
74
71
68
76
66
54
66
74
77
67
72
It has taken Gyasi Sulvaran a very long time to get here, but at 28 years old, he's finally just one step away from reaching his potential. He projects as a fighter who can assist teammates on all terrains, but this year, he focused primarily on hills. He's already become a fan favorite and has often overperformed expectations through breakaway appearances and his fighting spirit. The team will hoping to see more of that from him next year.
Joel Suter
Fighter - 1 > 3 - Age 24 - Pot. 5
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
71
62
68
65
70
69
66
66
65
67
68
68
65
2022
74
63
69
67
72
71
68
67
66
70
71
70
67
Suter is another fighter, and his power on the flats looks to be unmatched within the team. He backs that power up with decent performance on all terrains. At his peak, he could be a back end asset on a GT squad, a cobbles startlist, or a TTT lineup.
Hugo Forssell
Track-Sprinter - 1 > 3 - Age 23 - Pot. 3
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
64
62
68
71
66
69
65
57
72
72
69
67
71
2022
66
62
68
73
67
71
66
57
74
74
69
67
74
Forssell has an interesting hybrid skillset. He comes from the track, and as such, he excels both in sprints and time trials. Unsurprisingly, prologues look to be big opportunities for him in the future. For the coming year, he'll be a flat stage helper and TTT support.
Goldwijnn Cannister
Sprinter - 1 > 3 - Age 23 - Pot. 6
Flat
Mtn
Hill
TT
Sta
Res
Rec
Cob
Spr
Acc
Fig
Dwn
Pro
2021
67
61
65
64
68
63
65
66
66
70
70
62
66
2022
70
61
66
64
71
65
67
69
70
72
70
62
66
The Curacao Cannon, as I just began calling him, is used to riding rough local roads. Nonetheless, it's his burst of speed that made him a superstar back home. He still has a long way to go to hone his raw talent, but when he does, he projects as a cobbles helper who can win a small group sprint when he has the chance.
All of these guys look to be key members of Carlsberg next year, but most are certainly not untouchable. With the exception of Kamna, they all project as domestiques or superdomestiques. It will be interesting to see if management decide to switch things up at all in transfers and ship some prospects out for promotion push leadership, or if they instead become part of the long term core. Those decisions are yet to come.
Mr. Pickles
Sporting News
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Woohoo, a talent round-up. Kämna is looking incredibly juicy and I also like the looks of a maxed Gregaard and Belevics. It's great to se your devotion to Curacao'an/Curucanese/Curacuru(?) cycling as well obviously. Will you be able to max out Sulvaran by yourself next year, or do you need a loan-out?
Thank you both! Excited to have some new homegrown pieces next year,
Nemolito wrote:
Will you be able to max out Sulvaran by yourself next year, or do you need a loan-out?
Sulvaran will be at 4.99, so no loan necessary. He got a good chunk of the way through level 3 last year as my CT draft rider, so it was easy to plan his race days in a way that I wouldn't have to worry about a loan this year.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
2021 was a successful season for Carlsberg in the most basic sense, as they managed to not only survive in PCT, but finish in the top 15 of the division for the first time in team history. Still, because the team relied so heavily on leaders entering their mid-30's last year, continued success is not a guarantee. Demotion and promotion are perhaps both as possible in the new year as another mid-table finish.
In renewals, the team had a several clear issues facing it, with several declining leaders still looking to maintain their previous wages along with several young talents coming of age and looking for significant raises. In addressing these issues, the team had to grapple with it's strategy going forward, whether to emphasize sustainability or a full on promotion charge.
Of course, not all riders ended up signing a new contract with Carlsberg this offseason. While there were no immediate retirements, it's certainly a possibility for Timothy Roe. The stage race domestique was a solid value last year at minimum wage, but after a decline, and the emergence of young stage racers, the team felt he could no longer justify a roster spot in PCT.
Another rider who did not renew was Rasmus Sterobo. The Danish time trialist was inconsistent last year, but he did have his moments, including a stage win in the Tour of America and a stage podium in Post Danmark Rundt. Nevertheless, after several rounds of negotiation, it became clear that a modest raise would not satisfy Sterobo, and the sides agreed it would be best for both if he tested the open market.
A similar story for Georgios Bouglas, who also had a Tour of America stage win during and otherwise middling season. Bouglas simply asked for too much compared to what he will receive in free agency, so the team regrettably cut ties.
Carlsberg also released their three stagiares from 2021: Jens Reynders, Tore Andre Vabo, and Antti-Jussi Juntenen. It's possible they can catch on elsewhere, but management clearly did not believe they were worth committing a full contract to before transfers.
That leaves Carlsberg with 20 riders under contract for 2022, already enough for a full PCT team! Undoubtedly the team will change before the season, but they could theoretically call it right now. The raises, releases, and pay cuts give Carlsberg a payroll of € 2,167,500 heading into transfers.
Priority #1 in Carlsberg's renewals plan was to negotiate lower contracts for Carlsberg's aging stars, Rasmus Guldhammer and Matteo Trentin. They were able to do so. Guldhammer took a 125k paycut and will make € 300,000 in 2022, while Trentin takes an even larger salary decrease of 150k, down to € 250,000. While management would have obviously liked to go lower with those numbers, it's not easy to deal with the egos of stars who have a hard time admitting they are past their prime. The team hopes that these new salaries will be at least representative of their performance during the upcoming year.
Another older rider, Ramon Sinkeldam also took a pay cut to match his declined ability. After making € 135,000 last year, Sinkeldam will only make € 75,000 this year. His problems are bigger than numbers however, as it remains to be seen if his role on Carlsberg has already been taken by younger talent.
The improvement of several younger talents was the source of the largest salary raises during renewals. Lennard Kämna will now make € 150,000 as he reaches his (so-called) peak. Carlsberg hope this translates to some results in stage races. Likewise, climber Jonas Gregaard, who made barely over minimum wage last season, will now make € 105,000.
Smaller raises for the improving domestiques. Erik Nordsaeter Resell is eager to earn Sinkledam's spot as a cobbles lieutenant. For that task, he'll get the same salary as the Dutch veteran - € 75,000. Arturs Belevics, time trial beast, also gets a modest raise of 5k. € 55,000 isn't a salary most riders haggle over, but the Latvian was insistent that he is worth more than the minimum.
For the other Carlsberg riders, the negotiations were generally more fierce and over less money. Last year, Asbjorn Kragh Andersen got a surprisingly sizeable raise coming off a disappointing CT campaign, citing scouting reports that proved he was due for some good luck. He certainly met those expectations with a phenomenal 2021, and for that performance he demanded another raise. He gets 35k more, meaning he'll make € 245,000 this year.
Quite the opposite for Larry Warbasse, who could not repeat his strong 2020 at all, most notably flopping completely in the Tour of America. It was truly a 45,000 euro flop, as he'll now make just € 125,000 rather than the € 170,000 he made last year.
Some more small decreases down the line. Alex Aranburu disappointed as well, though the team at least saw flashes of his skillset late in the year. He'll make € 150,000 now, down 12.5k. Very minor decreases of 2,500 euros for young Danish climbers Niklas Eg and Patrick Olesen as well.
Finally, a couple of talents Carlsberg signed last year will now have wages closer to their true talent levels. Hugo Forssell is down to the minimum € 50,000 now, and Goldwijnn Cannister, who made six figures last year after a fierce bidding war for his services, is down to € 60,000.
All other riders will make the same wage as last season! See the complete figures below:
As always, we spoke with team manager baseballlover312 regarding the renewals period:
"Overall, I think we're satisfied with how things turned out. Both sides know this is a business, so there were definitely points of contention. But especially with guys like Rasmus and Matty, I really respect those guys for being able to largely accept that they're not the riders they once were and take fair wage adjustments. That's not easy for riders to do, and they handled it with a lot of grace. We were able to use some of those savings to re-sign young guys who are really excited to see at full strength this year, and we still have some cap space to work with. Don't get it wrong though - we're still not even close to what this team will look like by the start of the next season."
Indeed, with renewals now done, transfers are next on the agenda as far as seeing what the team will look like next season. As always, we should have our report about Carlsberg's rider availability up shortly.
Mr. Pickles
Sporting News
Edited by baseballlover312 on 08-08-2022 21:00
Those wage cuts definitely look great! Both Guldhammer and Trentin should have another good PCT season in their legs - but I wouldn't be surprised if you tried to sell at least one of them trying to rejuvenate the team. However, the future definitely doesn't look bad with the likes of Kämna, Gregaard or Eg still being rather young, and AKA's only 30 as well. I definitely agree with quadsas that a couple of smart transfers could see you going for promotion this year!
Very good set of renewals here! Should be plenty of space to add at least another great scoring rider to your setup, to help you look at the upper echelons of the PCT!
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
Lennard Kämna 
Jonas Gregaard 
Erik Nordsaeter Resell 
Arturs Belevics 
Gyasi Sulvaran 
Joel Suter 
Hugo Forssell 
Timothy Roe. The stage race domestique was a solid value last year at minimum wage, but after a decline, and the emergence of young stage racers, the team felt he could no longer justify a roster spot in PCT.
Georgios Bouglas, who also had a Tour of America stage win during and otherwise middling season. Bouglas simply asked for too much compared to what he will receive in free agency, so the team regrettably cut ties.
Jens Reynders, 
Antti-Jussi Juntenen. It's possible they can catch on elsewhere, but management clearly did not believe they were worth committing a full contract to before transfers.
Matteo Trentin. They were able to do so. Guldhammer took a 125k paycut and will make € 300,000 in 2022, while Trentin takes an even larger salary decrease of 150k, down to € 250,000. While management would have obviously liked to go lower with those numbers, it's not easy to deal with the egos of stars who have a hard time admitting they are past their prime. The team hopes that these new salaries will be at least representative of their performance during the upcoming year.
Ramon Sinkeldam also took a pay cut to match his declined ability. After making € 135,000 last year, Sinkeldam will only make € 75,000 this year. His problems are bigger than numbers however, as it remains to be seen if his role on Carlsberg has already been taken by younger talent.
Larry Warbasse, who could not repeat his strong 2020 at all, most notably flopping completely in the Tour of America. It was truly a 45,000 euro flop, as he'll now make just € 125,000 rather than the € 170,000 he made last year.
Alex Aranburu disappointed as well, though the team at least saw flashes of his skillset late in the year. He'll make € 150,000 now, down 12.5k. Very minor decreases of 2,500 euros for young Danish climbers 
